The present invention relates to portable tire inflators or pumps and devices for storing their air hoses.
Many portable air pumps for inflating vehicle tires are known. Examples thereof are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,776,766 (Brent), 4,614,479 (Liu), and 4,080,105 (Connell). (The entire disclosures of each of these patents are hereby incorporated by reference.) Another portable tire inflator is the 120 volt 9527 AIR STATION.RTM. inflator, available from The Black & Decker Corporation of Towson, Maryland.
None of the known inflators has a good way of storing and quickly accessing their air hoses. For example, the AIR STATION.RTM. inflator has a groove at its base into which the 120 volt electric cord and the air hose are wrapped. The hose is thereby exposed, susceptible to damage and presents an unattractive appearance. Also, air hoses having a "memory" can be difficult and cumbersome to quickly wrap into a storage position.